Dwellings and Settlements

Traditional dwellings and settlements are the built expressions of a heritage that continues to be transmitted from one generation to another. Usually the product of common people without professional intervention they provide the habitat for much of the world's population. In fact, it is argued that professionally designed dwellings account for less than 1% of the total housing stock in the world. According to one estimate, traditional dwellings and settlements house between eight and nine million households in a variety of urban and rural settings (Oliver 1987).

In the twentieth century, interest in the social and cultural values, images and perceptions underlying traditional dwellings and settlements has become widespread among scholars in various disciplines. Specific labels, such as “vernacular,” “indigenous,” “primitive,” “tribal,” “folkloric,” “popular,” and “anonymous” have been introduced to describe the subjects of a variety of inquiries. Nevertheless, the inability to come...